Brigadier LS Lidder is survived by his wife, Geetika Lidder, and daughter, Aashna Lidder
Highlights
- Visuals show Brigadier LS Lidder's wife in tears, kneeling by his coffin
- The Brigadier's daughter, Aashna Lidder, was by her mother's side
- Brigadier Lidder was one of the 13 who died in Wednesday's chopper crash
Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder's wife, Geetika Lidder, and daughter, Aashna Lidder, said goodbye to him this morning, in emotional and heart-wrenching scenes from Delhi's Brar Square Crematorium.
Mournful visuals shared by news agency ANI showed Mrs Lidder in tears kneeling by the head of her husband's coffin, which was draped with the national flag and decked with flowers.
The Brigadier's daughter, Aashna Lidder, was by her mother's side, fighting back tears of her own as she let a handful of rose petals fall through her fingers and on to her father's coffin.
"He was a good father. We must give him a good farewell... a smiling send-off. I am a soldier's wife. It's a big loss," Geetika Lidder told ANI after the Brigadier's funeral.
"I am going to be 17. So he was with me for 17 years... we will go ahead with happy memories. It's a national loss. My father was a hero, my best friend. Maybe it was destined and better things will come our way. He was my biggest motivator," Aashna Lidder said..
Earlier Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA Ajit Doval and Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar were among those to pay their respects. A long line of military officials, including the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, also paid tribute, marching in stoic sequence to lay a wreath at his feet.
Brigadier Lidder, 52, was one of the 13 who died in Wednesday's horrific chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiri Hills. The crash also claimed the lives of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife, Madhulika Rawat, and nine other Air Force personnel.
The Brigadier, who was a top aide to Gen Rawat, had been approved for promotion to Major General, and was due to take command of a division, when he and the others boarded the ill-fated Mi17-V5.
Commissioned in to the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK RIF) in December 1990, Brigadier Lidder, who had his roots in Haryana's Panchukla, served as Gen Rawat's DA, or Defence Assistant..
Among numerous other highlights in his distinguished career, he also commanded a brigade in the northern borders, was a DA in Kazakhstan and led his battalion in the Congo as part of the United Nations' Peacekeeping Force, and was a Director at the Military Operations Directorate.
He was a recipient of the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal.
At 4 pm, also at Brar Square Crematorium, Gen Bipin Rawat will be laid to rest. At present the bodies of the General and wife are in state at their Delhi home, for the public to pay final respects.
Only one other body has been identified so far - Lance Naik Vivek Kumar. The rest are at the mortuary at the Army Base Hospital and will be released for final rites as identification is completed.
There is only one survivor from the chopper crash - Group Captain Varun Singh - who is being treated for severe burn injuries at the Air Force's Command Hospital in Bengaluru.
The government has ordered a tri-services inquiry into the crash, investigation of which will begin with the 'black box', or flight data recorders, which was recovered yesterday.
With input from ANI